Hi, I am looking for a really light tent to do a bit of backpacking next year.
I am a rather petite girlie, with a dodgy back lol!. I will have my 4 year old with me, and will have to carry gear for both of us. He will have his own waterproofs, and maybe sleeping mat to carry.
I spotted the above tent, and it looks ideal, except for being single skin, although maybe that will be ok. Has anyone here got any experience of the tent...or any suggestions for an alternative?
We need SIM and light weight sleeping bags too. I can't seem to find a 4 season kids bag anywhere so will probably get an adult one for him. Will probably get vango adventure light mats, 3cm and in my price range.
I am on a tight budget so want to do it as cheaply as possible, with decent gear
I've no experience of that particular tent but I have owned a single skin tent before and found that it suffered badly from condensation so quickly switched to another tent instead. The one I bought (a Gelert Eiger 2) is a little heavy at nearly 3kg though.
As for suggestions I think it would depend on when and how you intend to use the equipment. I use a Tesco micro-lite mummy bag with a liner. I think they have them on sale for just over £13 at the moment. They're not 4 season bags but I've never had any problems with cold yet so would only need something warmer if I went any earlier than say mid to late April. They pack down really small in a compression sack and weigh less than a kilo.
We do camp as early and late in the season as possible, so need true 4 season bags. We have vango 2-3 season ones at the moment, but they are bulky, heavy and I was cold when we camped in frosts last April. I won't have room to carry blankets if we go backpacking.
I have a single skin Vango Juno tent, which has been great, but I suppose a smaller tent would be more likely to suffer condensation, hmm.
I would need a tent 2kg or under. I have seen a few light low level pop ups, one of which was 1.5kg. The large disc shape would be a pain to carry though.
Ok, so I have found Highlander products...3cm thermalite camper SIM weighs 550g and 4 season pac tec bag weighs 1.2kg, and packs down small. Apparently it has almost the same warmth to weight ratio as a down bag.
The brand seems to have a good rep as far as I can see. Now I have to save up my pennies and find the perfect tent!
Hi moon, I backpack quite a lot and swear by my vau-de Taurus 2, which is plenty big for two adults. I've seen a few DofE groups using it's smaller brother the Taurus 1. It should suit your needs perfectly. Not cheap though (you get what you pay for) avoid pop-ups (crap in wind)
Vango is a respectable make so look at their DofE recommended gear.
Quote: Originally posted by chasaroony on 30/8/2010
Have a look at this its an excellent buy and well worth reading the reviews, its 1 man but will fit 1 adult and child and within anybodies budget.
I own one of these and whilst I agree its well worth the price for a single person I reckon it would be a very tight squeeze with two, especially if it was planned for each to have a separate SIM as it wouldn't fit both.
Hi moon, the Vitesse is a single skin ridge tent, yes? It looks pretty basic on the Vango website but I agree it is incredibly light at under 2kg.
I think you may find condensation problems and I doubt a single skin tent will be as warm as an inner-and-outer. Obviously it will be much lighter to carry though.
Vaude make a range of high-quality lightweights (for instance, the Taurus weighs only 2.47kg and their classic 'Hogan' weighs just over 3kg) but they are rather more expensive than Vango tents.
That's not to say anything against Vango - I've got a Sigma 300 and I really like it but it weighs nearly 6kg.
About the cheapest Vaude I found on a very brief online search was this one from Millets
Anyway, good luck with your research. Let us know what you choose in the end.
SC
PS How's the weather in Cornwall this morning? I was sorely tempted to chuck everything in the car last night ....
Well not the lightest but there is room for a adult and child inside, east set up and pack away. It takes me and Iam a big 6ft 1 bolke with room to spare for another adult if friendly.
I now have new 4 season sleeping bags I did go for the Highlander pac tec, and they arrived today. They look great,well made, really soft and light, hard to believe they are going to keep us warm in freezing temps. Managed to compress them to half the pack size they were when they arrived too. They were on offer for £30. Can't wait to try them out
I got us a couple of SIMs too, really wasn't sure whether to go for lightweight or comfort, given that my back is a bit dodgy and hard surfaces don't agree with me. Ended up getting 2 Vango adventure 5 cm ones, on offer and with a free SIpillow!! They aren't lightweight, but not as heavy as I expected, and are very comfy.
So, now I just need to find that perfect tent. Some great ideas from you guys. I realise that I want something that I can attach my Vango adventure tarp too. I will need a covered area for cooking, and always handy to have more space with a boisterous 4 year old about.
I am wondering if the Vango Apex may be the one, way over my budget though. It looks like the tarp could be stretched over the curved pole....or maybe that would de stabilise the tent?? Hmmm. It's low weight would make up for the silly heavy mats though
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Topic: Vango Force Ten Vitesse 200
